Combating pandemic scams

COVID-19 has touched nearly every person on the planet. In response to the virus, Americans transitioned to work from home, cities effectively shut down, and millions of people lost their jobs.

Unfortunately, as this was all happening, criminals saw this as an opportunity to exploit those most vulnerable through new and innovative scams.

As Americans placed orders for personal protective equipment (PPE), they rightfully expected the items to resemble the pictures on the listing. Instead, they received different or defective PPE in the middle of a global pandemic.

While China worked to limit the PPE available to Americans, its counterfeit goods flooded our markets through e-commerce platforms. Since the start of the pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security has made over 1,600 seizures of fake medical products.

Now, as vaccines are being distributed, it is as important as ever that the American people have faith in the vaccines. However, there are already reports that scammers are offering people fakes and improper opportunities to jump the line to receive it.

Taking advantage of people during a global pandemic is abhorrent, and to address this, I introduced the Combating Pandemic Scams Act to help prepare and inform the public about these scams, and it was recently signed into law. Now, Americans can be educated on how to lookout for the scams and avoid them to save lives and money. To do this, the law requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish an easily accessible database for Americans to access and requires the FTC to disseminate this information to the public. That includes making it easily accessible for seniors and those with disabilities.

According to the FTC, over 140,000 complaints have been filed regarding pandemic-related scams. The FTC is responding to and going after these scammers, but educating the public on the types of scams and how to avoid them can provide an additional layer of protection.

The FTC’s data shows that online shopping ranks first in scams, vacation and travel ranks second and dietary products are a distant third. This reflects the growing trend of online shopping as people spend more time at home. As these online purchases grow, so must the vigilance of people to spot and report scams.

Pandemic scams aren’t limited to any specific area of the country. In fact, Georgia has had more than 6,800 fraud cases reported at a cost of nearly $5 million. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr released an announcement in May detailing specific scams that were increasing in frequency, specifically contact tracing, stimulus funding, and working from home ploys. These are scams that have been seen across the country, with many Americans falling victim and compromising their personal information and finances.

We, as a country, have been through a lot as we have grappled with the pandemic and its ensuing effects. The last thing someone should have to worry about is whether or not they are being scammed as they try to get COVID relief funding or needed PPE.

People must have faith that what they are buying is authentic, and now that it’s law, I’m confident the Combating Pandemic Scams Act will help achieve this.

Scammers will continue to evolve their practices, but with a little assistance we can help the American public adapt. Together, we can fight back.

Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-Ga.) represents the First District of Georgia in the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.